Here we go. I have no idea what to put in this chapter so let's hope it turns out okay. Not a good way to start the chapter. Read it anyway!!! Oh! And REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Disclaimer: Don't own any characters....yet. They haven't come in yet.

The Demon Within Chapter 3: Dangerous Discoveries

The group wandered around the large coastal city. A smile plastered on Luffy's face as he beheld the bustling marketplace. Sanji allowed a smirk to grace his features as he wandered over to the food stands. One thing Sanji would do whenever they came ashore was buy more food. He would not do anything else until he had bought enough, by his standards.

Nami and Robin separated from the group and moved into a nearby bookstore. Chopper ran into a pharmacy a few buildings down. That left Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp together in the market. The group wandered silently for a few minutes before Usopp left to gather supplies to make the ammo for his slingshot.

"I wanna get a tattoo!" Luffy burst out as he looked up towards Zoro.

Zoro raised an eyebrow towards the young captain as he took another gulp of his drink. He followed his energetic captain as he made his way into one of the many tattoo parlors in the city. He chuckled lowly as Luffy walked in and began to think on what tattoo he wanted to get.

"Hey Zoro! Have you got any ink?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah actually." He said as he patted his right shoulder.

"Can I see it?"

"Why don't you just get the Strawhat insignia?"

"Good idea but can I still see it?"

Zoro sighed as he rolled up his sleeve for Luffy to see his tattoo. The ink on his arm almost made Luffy gasp. It was a very unique and intricate symbol. It had the basic shape of an ankh. The top loop was about all that was plain about it. The bottom resembled that of a dagger blade with a spike curling from the top to the midsection. Two more spikes resembling half moons were attached to the side of the ankh and beside these crescent moons was a blood drop grasped by a single clawed hand. Beneath this symbol was the word Sudra.

"Now there's something I thought I would never see!" A voice rang out.

The pair looked up to see the owner of the tattoo parlor standing over them. Zoro's eyes grew wide and he quickly rolled down his sleeve.

"Sudra! What an honor!"

"What's so important about his tattoo?" Luffy asked.

"Why he's purebl-" The man stopped suddenly as Zoro grabbed his arm and pulled him over to a nearby corner.

"Not one more old man." He hissed.

"Do have any idea what you are?" The man seemed to care less about the death glare Zoro was giving him.

"That I do. Which is why if you value your life you will be silent!" He took another gulp of his drink.

"He is your captain is he not?"

Zoro nodded.

"Then he needs to know."

"Shut up!" Zoro hissed threateningly as his fangs slid from their sheaths.

"You are Sudra!"

"Not one more word old man!" His eyes began to glow ominously as he showed his unsheathed fangs.

The man quickly quieted himself as Zoro nearly flew from the store, Luffy in his iron grip.

"Zoro wait! Stop!" Luffy cried out.

Zoro stopped and glanced back at his captain. Fear grew in the pit of his stomach as he beheld the serious expression on his captain's face. When he had that expression on his face he was going to get what he wanted and right now he wanted answers. Answers that Zoro did not want to give.

But just as Luffy's mouth opened a board swung by and smacked him in the face sending him hurtling backwards over a pile of flour sacks, which exploded in a cloud of white powder. He then tumbled into a watering troff, rolled through it, and into a pen of chickens causing them to panic and leap out of the pen and onto the street.

As Zoro beheld the sight of Luffy covered in sticky flour goop and feathers running around, trying to catch all of the chickens, and the look on the stunned carpenter's face, as he realized what he had done, he couldn't help but exploding in a fit of laughter. The squawking of chickens continued along with the shouts of Luffy, the carpenter's stunned look, and Zoro's laughter. Zoro was now rolling around on the dusty streets.

After a few minutes everyone managed to get the chickens back into the pen and got the carpenter to stop apologizing. Luffy walked back over to Zoro who was still on the ground laughing.

"See I told you you were gonna laugh!" Luffy told him as he spit out feathers.

"Who wouldn't laugh after that?" Zoro said as he stood. "You look like a giant chicken." He laughed again before taking another drink, emptying the bottle.

"We should head back and meet up with the others." Zoro said as he began walking back towards the docks.

The two walked back, Luffy getting many strange looks along the way. They got back just as Usopp was boarding the ship himself. He broke into a fit of loud laughter as he caught sight of Luffy. Everyone they passed by broke out in laughter until Zoro unceremoniously picked up Luffy and tossed him overboard. A loud splash sounded and Zoro jumped overboard to retrieve their captain. He dragged him back on board clean as a whistle.

"Awww." Luffy pouted over everyone's laughter.

Zoro smiled and walked away towards the Men's quarters to put his bottle away. He would have to hunt again before they set sail.

"Hey Zoro." Chopper called to him from around the corner.

"One minute." He called from inside the Men's quarters.

He placed the bottle back in the chest and headed out towards Chopper's quarters.

"What is it?" He asked a little annoyed. He wanted to get some sleep.

"Sit down." Chopper motioned towards the table used for Chopper's routine medical examinations.

"No, I'm fine." He growled. This could mean trouble.

"People don't just bleed from the mouth and be 'fine' Zoro."

"Chopper I'm fine!" He had to resist letting his fangs slide out. That tended to happen when he got angry.

"Sit down before I make you sit down!" Chopper shouted as he turned into his Yeti form and towered over Zoro.

Knowing that he was trapped Zoro complied and Chopper shut the door behind them.

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I little while later:

"Luffy! Luffy!" Chopper called as he ran up to the crow's nest.

Luffy turned towards Chopper who looked extremely worried,

"What is it Chopper?" Luffy asked.

"It's Zoro follow me quickly."

Luffy followed Chopper to his quarters but Zoro was not there.

"Where's Zoro?"

"He's in the crow's nest. But you need to see this."

He took a small tube of blood and showed it to Luffy.

"This is a sample of Zoro's blood. It can't support hemoglobin."

"What the heck is hemoglobin?"

"It's a type of protein that carries nutrients to the body. Without it you'd die. I just don't understand why he's still alive. Watch what happens when I put it in the sun."

He put a few droplets of blood on a tray and placed it in the sunbeam. Nothing happened. Then Chopper put a magnifying glass over it and smoke began to rise.

"Silver has a reaction about the same and don't even try garlic."

"And you found this out how?" Luffy said giving the ship's medic an odd look.

"I season my sandwiches with garlic, the magnifying glass was hanging in the window, and that necklace is made of silver. It fell into a blood sample." He responded pointing at a small pendant hanging on the wall. "His temperature is about twenty degrees below normal and his heartbeat is almost nonexistent."

"Chopper this information doesn't leave this room." Luffy said as a serious aura overtook him.

"What? Why aren't you concerned? He should be dead? He might be dying?"

"He'll be fine. Trust me." He smiled. "Let me explain something to you Chopper. Zoro's never been normal."

"Well I know that. He's nuts!"

"That's not what I mean. He's...different. He doesn't even know that I know this. I respect his privacy. If I know something he doesn't want me to know then I don't let him know that I know."

"Luffy what it it?"

"Have you ever heard of the legends of the Nightwalkers?"

"Not really no."

"Vampires. Zoro is one. I don't know much about it. I just know that he is one. I don't know all the complicated junk but no matter what he's a member of this crew and northing's changed. He's still Zoro."

"A Vampire? Really?"

"Yes. Don't mention this to anyone. Not one soul."

"Shouldn't the rest of the crew know?"

"They will know eventually. Zoro will let us all know in his own time and if he never does than that's his choice. Not ours understood?"

"Yes Luffy."

"Good now get rid of those records and the blood sample. Hurry I'm hungry!"

Chopper let out a small chuckle as he destroyed all evidence of Zoro's inner demon. But then something occurred to him.

"Luffy?" He asked as he held the container of Zoro's blood.

"What?"

"I just realized this. I've taken blood samples from Zoro before."

"Your point. Come on I want to eat!"

"I always put my blood samples in the same place and that magnifying glass has always hung there. Come to think of it it's a miracle this place hasn't caught fire. But it's never had a reaction like that before."

"Do you think he's losing his immunity to sunlight?"

"Well he must have an immunity to it, but yes he might and if that happens while we're out at sea..."

Silence loomed over the room haunting its inhabitants.

"Look into it. I'll have to ask Zoro if this doesn't get any better."

Luffy left but instead of heading to the kitchen like he was planning he made his way to the crow's nest. He had lost his appetite. He was worried about Zoro. He hoped that everything was going to be alright. He would not lose his first mate. If the whole crew found out then so be it. He wasn't going to lose him. Not to a little thing like sunlight. What a humiliating fate for the world's greatest swordsman. Which he had faith that he would become.

Then it hit him who could help.

"Sudra. What did that mean. How did the old man know about it and why did Zoro want to shut him up so fast. It had to have had something to do with Nightwalkers. Otherwise he wouldn't have been so touchy."

So he got up, climbed back down the ladder, and made his way to the ramp leading to the docks. He climbed off the ship and made his way back to the tattoo parlor.

"What does Sudra mean?!" He demanded as he threw open the door and stared the man in the face.

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Wow that one went far. Don't' worry there's still a lot of story to read and write. I'm happy with myself. Are you. If you are tell me and review!!!!